Food, Fun and Creativity

grandmother

As I sit here this morning pondering life……….I wonder where did the time go?

Where are the young children I raised?

Why are they gone from my home?

Why can’t I get them all in one place together more then once a year?

Why? Why? Why?

Why do they grow up and leave home to make their own lives?

Oh, yeah, that is what we raised them to do. Doesn’t mean I have to like it one little bit! Because I DON’T! Okay, okay, I ❤ my grandsons and my kids had to grow up and lead their own lives for me to have them! So, I am okay with them doing what we raised them to do.

I ❤ the Holidays! Its my favorite time of year. Especially now with 5 amazing grandsons to spoil. But I miss my babies being, well babies! I was thinking about Thanksgiving dinners at my mom’s house. It was so much fun! She always made more food then we could ever eat in day. So, we showed up for days and ate and ate and ate…..until we couldn’t walk! The ‘good ole days’!

That is what I am missing this Eve of Thanksgiving. The times when we loaded up and made the 5 mile drive to see my parents and siblings! Yeah, we lived close so we could go over for days and keep eating. But more importantly we hung out with family. We played games. We ate, too much. We laughed. Did I mention we ate……a lot?!?! We watched football. We made memories.

I miss those days when my kids were younger. When we had complete control….or so we thought, right?! They didn’t have a choice but to go with us. They didn’t have a car or money!

Most of all I miss spending time with my mom and step-father. We laid him to rest 2 and a half years ago. I know my sweet momma misses him every day. I think of him more often during the holidays when we would have been together more. But he was an amazing man and is missed daily.

Life goes on and we make new memories with new family members and our circle starts over with us as the new center. But it is hard to let go of the past and move into the future. I miss many things about the past but I look forward to so many more great things in the future.

I pray this Thanksgiving Holiday you find great happiness and make grand memories that you will look back on fondly. May peace rule your days and hope find you often and all your dreams come true and love never find you wanting!

grand·moth·er

noun\ˈgran(d)-ˌmə-thər\

: the mother of your father or mother

But is that all it means? I think NOT!

For me being a Granna (that is what I go by!) is so much more then being the mother of the mother.

We were at the hospital when our first grandson was born. We could see the door to the room but not hear anything. We were outside another doorway and not permitted any closer. At one point they had a bit of an emergency. All we could see were more hospital personnel pouring into the room. No word to the family waiting anxiously outside the hall if all was okay or not. It took them 20-30 minutes to tell us baby had arrived and both were doing good. My tears turned joyful at that point!

Seeing him for the first time was pure JOY! I was a GRANNA!

Fast-forward a few years and we are at the hospital again for grandson #2. I was actually in the room this time. When our daughter started having breathing problems the head nurse yelled “get the mother out of here!”. I was ushered down a hallway a lot farther from this grandson then the last. I waited even longer this time and I was alone. Grandpa was at home with our first grandson. So, here I was in a hospital waiting room in the middle of the night all alone, worried that my daughter and grandson might not make it. It was probably an hour before I saw our son-in-law and found out all was well. More tears!

Holding grandson #2 was as AMAZING as the first time! I was getting good at this GRANNA thing!

Grandson #3 was born in his parents bedroom in the wee hours of the morning (on purpose – home-birth). We got the call late into the night that if we wanted to be there for the birth we better get over there. We did! It was the most peaceful experience I had ever been a part of. At least as births go. It was the first time our daughter had peace giving birth. Praise music was playing softly when we arrived. The big brothers were still sleeping. The midwife was calm and very competent. It was just a great experience. She had pain which is to be expected when you are pushing another human out of your body. But over all it was peaceful. He arrived in a pool of water. We didn’t know what he was until birth. To say I was disappointed it was another boy would be the truth for a split second. Then I laid eyes on my sweet #3 and my heart was his. And it pretty much has been ever since. He and I have a bond that I didn’t have with the other brothers. Not the same anyway.

Holding grandson #3 was pure BLISS! Bring on the boys! This GRANNA can handle it!

Two years later we are in the bedroom again waiting on grandbaby #4. Not sure what this one is either. High hopes for a girl! The whole atmosphere was peaceful again. Big brothers are sleeping. #3 is walking around wondering what is going on. He kisses mommy in between contractions. Such a sweet baby, that one! Praise music is blasting throughout the house. Our daughter is in the pool when we arrive. She hasn’t started pushing, yet. She is hurting. To be expected. She is hurting a lot. I’m not gonna lie, this momma was crying watching her baby in so much pain. It was a very emotional time. I did a lot of praying as I watched her get closer to pushing. Through it all her amazing husband was right there with her. Soothing her. Caressing her. Loving her. It was wonderful to be a part of it again. Then baby #4 arrived and HE was perfect. There is nothing like seeing your grandbaby immediately after birth.

Swaddling grandson #4 for the first time MELTED my heart. I ❤ being a GRANNA!

So with the definition of being a grandmother in my mind, I say, HOGWASH! That is not a definition.

My definition is this:

Grandmother: someone who possesses a warm heart, open arms; more love than she can express; more joy then she can contain; grateful to be called grandmother; worrier; crier; prayer warrior; baby holder; lover of her family

It is not easy being the grandmother some times. We want to tell our children how to raise those little people they give birth to. After all we already did and they turned out pretty good…right??!??! But it is not our place. We had our chance. Now they get to make the same mistakes……I mean try to raise God following, fun-loving, crazy, happy babies!

We all have to live and learn.

The circle of life.

Our 5th GRANDSON is due in about 2 weeks. I know without a doubt I am equipped to love another boy as much as I love the first 4! God is so good to me. I am truly blessed! And I have another daughter that hasn’t even started having babies, yet! Bring ’em on!

So you go be a good grandmother and make some cookies for those sweet babies. Just don’t tell their momma!

She is not scheduled for a c-section so we don’t know when baby will appear.

She is actually having a home-birth ~ her second.

We don’t know what she is having ~ other than it’s a baby.

So I sit here waiting on the phone call to tell me “it’s time”.

I have realized recently and probably longer if I were completely honest with myself, I am not a very patient person. There are a few things that get to me rather quickly and my patients run thin (but that is for another post). I am sure you can relate. Don’t judge, we all have our issues.

But right now I am calmly waiting on that phone call! Okay, so I say calmly, but inside I am jumping up and down so anxious to hold a newborn baby! I really want it to be a girl, only because I already have three sweet grandsons and a fourth grandson due in June (my son’s wife). I think it is high time this family bought some pink frilly things!

So that is the reason for the title of this blog. I really hope we have been waiting on a woman! Or rather a baby girl!!

I remember when I had my first child, a girl. Then our second was also a girl. When I got pregnant with our third I was scared to have a boy at this point. I wasn’t sure what to do with a boy after six years of pink. But when we got our boy we figured it out. And bought blue!

Now, in my daughter’s family, they have some of the wildest, craziest, sweetest boys you will ever meet. The oldest, 6 and a half, is positive this baby is a girl. He is desperate for a sister. I think he will be the best big brother to a little girl the world has ever seen. The middle child, 5, says he wants a sister, too, but I don’t think he cares as much as his older brother. The current baby of the family, 2, does not understand what is happening. He kisses mommy’s belly and is so sweet but in a few days his world will be turned upside down, whether we get a boy or girl, he will no longer be the “baby”. I think he will adjust fine but it may be a bit tough on him. I guess Granna (that’s me!) will have to give him some extra lovin’! He is so sweet, I will enjoy that!

Irregardless of what this newest member to our family is, I want a healthy baby. Yes, I would love to continue (yes, I have been buying some pink) buying pink clothes.But a healthy baby and momma are more important than gender.

But for it to be a girl………………..

I can come out to the world and shout it from the roof tops!

{{I AM GRANNA TO A GIRL}}!!

But in the mean time………I am sitting around here………waiting on a woman (hopefully two, one to give birth and one to be born)!!

The following link is Jaclyn’s birth story for Everett. It was the most amazing thing I have ever been a part of. I hope you enjoy it, too. Would you ever have a home birth?

I love the look of aged/antiqued fabrics. From pillows to headbands and all things between.

Who would like to rummage through their grandmother or great-grandmother’s old trunks or cabinets to see what you can find to re-purpose into something for the 21st Century? I know I would. If only I could go back in time and hang onto some of those old items. I think about all the chenille bedspreads I have seen over the years. The quilts from years gone by. I do have a few of those from the hands of my very own great-grandma. I won’t be parting with them any time soon.

The things I could put together today from things of the past! So fun to think about.

This blog is to introduce you to the simple process of tea-dying fabrics or what I like to call “aging” fabrics.

I forget not everyone is fluent in craft. I take for granted that I pick ideas up easily. I figure if I can do it…anyone can. Not necessarily true. So with that said, I think this is something easy to start off with. Following is a simple step by step how-to for tea dying your own fabrics for those lovely aged items you want to make.

Items you will need:

pan

water

tea bags 4-6 depending on how dark you are going for (I use the cheapest kind since I am just sticking fabric in it…none of my organic ones!)

white or light colored fabric or lace or whatever it is you want to age (cotton/cotton blends work best)

Start by boiling the tea bags in enough water to cover your fabric. Ahh smells so good!

Once it is boiling turn it off and move off heat source so it stops boiling (I have an electric stove so it stays hot forever!).

Add your fabric (or lace doily as I am using here) and push it under the tea (use a spoon not your fingers).

You will want to let it sit for at least 20 minutes. Longer if you want it darker. You can always put it back after you see how dark it is. Cotton fabrics turn best. Poly blends don’t turn as easy. Some fabrics may not turn much at all. Just test it if you are not sure (rinse under cold water to see how dark it is). Leave in longer and test again.

Once you get the desired affect rinse it under cold water. Use a spoon here, again, don’t burn yourself! It can still be very hot until you get enough cold water on it.

Don’t pour out the tea until you are sure you are done dying fabric. Look around your house or craft room, you might have missed something that would look good aged.

After I have rinsed it under cold water until the water runs clear, I squeeze it in a towel to dry it. Then lay it out flat to dry completely. If you need it for a project right away (which I usually do!) you can put it in the clothes dryer for a few minutes to finish drying it. I would make sure it is alone in the dryer just so it doesn’t get tea on something you don’t want tea on (just to be on the safe side).

I think this doily turned out pretty neat. It has some poly (or other fabric, not sure what) in it and that would be why it is two different colors. I like the variation in the design. I may be using this in a picture frame as a back drop so the color will work perfectly.

Meet Sabrina

Writer, crafter, wife, mother, grandmother, kitchen experimenter and lover of Jesus. Through life's ups and downs, I've found crafting calms me or so I like to think!
Join me as I show you how to make some fun stuff for your own life and home. Encourage you to try some amazing recipes to help you branch out into eating healthier. Give you that small, needed push to try something new.